Chandigarh: Punjab Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday emphasised that the party will “continue its fight to save the Constitution”.
His reaction came a day after a political storm erupted after seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs quit the party and joined the BJP.
The MPs included Raghav Chadha, Swati Maliwal, Ashok Mittal and others.
Speaking to IANS, Cheema blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the seven AAP MPs defecting from the party.
The Punjab Minister said, “This shows that the BJP does not have trust on the country’s democracy. They want to break the Constitution, framed by BR Ambedkar.”
“The people of Punjab had sacrificed their lives during the freedom struggle. We are willing to sacrifice again in order to uphold the country’s democracy. The AAP will continue its fight to save the Constitution,” Cheema added.
The Punjab Minister accused the BJP of indulging in cross voting in order to secure victory in the Rajya Sabha election.
“BJP engaged in cross voting in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in order to win Rajya Sabha seats,” Cheema said.
He also accused BJP of garnering votes in the Bihar Assembly polls by using former Chief Minister and JD-U supremo Nitish Kumar.
Recently, BJP’s Samrat Choudhary took oath as the new Bihar Chief Minister.
“Therefore, in order to save the country and defeat the BJP, we will stay together and continue our fight,” Cheema said.
He claimed that whoever leaves the AAP, “gets finished”.
Citing an instance to prove his statement, Cheema said, “Before 2022, we had 22 MLAs in Punjab, of whom 12 had left the AAP. The security deposits (required during polls) of all 12 of them were forfeited. The remaining 10 had won with a huge margin.”
“The seven MLAs who have left the AAP will not get a place anywhere in the future. They will be seen wandering on the streets,” he said.
He came in support of AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on the “Sheesh Mahal” allegations against the latter.
The Punjab Minister said, “One has done some renovation in a house provided by the government; they call it as ‘Sheesh Mahal’. This is their (BJP’s) way to defame.”
Cheema asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party stands firm on its principles and would continue to do so.
(IANS)
